Teacher Appreciation Ideas

Well friends, it’s that time of year again….springtime, which we all know brings our favorite time of year…pollen season.

Ok, well maybe not. Ha! Just had to see if you were paying attention.

Spring does bring a very special time in schools though. At some point in time, each school will have teacher appreciation. This is a time we as parents and our children can do little things to thank our teachers for their hard work and dedication.

I always loved teacher appreciation when I taught school. It wasn’t the receiving the gifts {although that was pretty nice}, it was the fact that the kids went out of their way to thank me for what I was doing for them. It made it all worth it…the long hours of planning, grading countless papers, attending meetings, holding conferences, and all those running records.

Let’s be honest, being a teacher is a pretty thankless job…it’s kind of like being a stay-at-home mama {or homemaker}. We work long, hard hours, the job is super demanding, and there are many hats a teacher must wear and juggle without having them fall on a daily basis.

Springtime is here and that means so is teacher appreciation. We’ve already had teacher appreciation week at Dallas’ school, so today I want to share a few things I sent in to help make Dallas’ teachers feel a little special each day. We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful teacher and aid this year. They have helped Dallas so much in growing her confidence and she is blossoming into such a wonderful student and girl…but I may be a little bias.

Anyway, here are a few things I put together.

Let’s break them down, shall we?!

Some of these were Pinterest inspired, of course, but they were all fun.

1. We Need S’more Teachers Like YOU!

All you need is big marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate pieces.

In a small bag put in two marshmallows, two graham cracker squares, and two pieces of chocolate.

Make a card on your computer that says:

“We need S’more teachers like YOU!”

Fold over the bag and either staple or tape in close. Add your tag onto some cute scrapbook paper and attach it to the bag.

 

2. You are Truly “Note”worthy

I don’t think this one can get any simpler. I picked up these cute magnetic note pads at the dollar spot at Target.

Type and print a tag that says:

“You are Truly “Note”worthy”

Attach the tag to cute scrapbook paper. Attach the tag and some cute ribbon or embellishments using hot glue.

3. You Deserve and extra “Payday”

We all know teacher do not get paid nearly enough for all that they do. Sometimes it’s nice to give them a little extra “Payday”…even if it’s not in money.

Well, I guess you can get simpler. Put a Payday bar in a baggie, make a tag and attach it to some scrapbook paper. Punch a hole and attach tag to the bag with a piece of ribbon.

4. Sticky Note Pad Frame

This one took a little more work…well, time I guess.

I purchased a plastic frame at Michael’s for about $1.00.

I let Dallas pick out a couple of pieces of scrapbook paper she liked.

Cut the paper to the frame size and slip it into the frame.

Using hot glue, attach the sticky note pad to the front of the frame.

Now for the fun part…embellishments. There’s so much you can do. With these two I made fabric and felt flowers, used some ribbon, and hot glued them all one to make them look super cute.

Here’s how to make the fabric/felt flowers.

Cut out 6 circles in either felt or fabric. Take 5 of the circles, fold each one into half and half again and use a dab of hot glue to keep them closed. Using 4, arrange and hot glue around the flat circle. Put a dab of hot glue in the center and add the last quarter. And wha-la, you have a flower.

For these, you can make a tag that says:

“I’ve got to “stick” it to you…you’re GREAT!”

5. We “Skor’d” when we got YOU!”

This one is a lot like the Payday bar. Just put a Skor chocolate bar in a baggie.

Make a tag that says:

“We “Skor’d” when we got YOU!”

I made this tag on a baseball {since it’s the start of baseball season} on my Silhouette, printed, and cut it out.

Attach the tag to the baggie with a cute ribbon.

Easy as pie!

6. Thanks for helping us grow

I’ve done this one two ways. If you want to do something simple and just from your child, you can purchase a potted plant, make a sign, attach it to a pencil, and stick it into the plant.

That’s very simple.

This year, I sent a letter home to the class that explained to the parents that since it was teacher appreciation week, I would be happy to put a class gift together. {I stole this idea from my friend from last year. ;o)}

There was absolutely NO pressure for anyone to participate. I just let them know that IF they wanted, they could send in money to put towards gift cards for the teachers.

I then took the money collected, went around town and purchased 4 gift cards for each teacher and a plant.

I attached the gift cards to pencils and stuck them in the dirt around the plant.

I made a sign that said:

“Thank you for helping us GROW this year!”

Each teacher received the plant and four gift cards:

$10-Starbucks

$5-Sweet Spoons {local yogurt place}

$30-Shucker’s {local seafood restaurant}

$20-Target

There are so many fun things you can do for your teachers to make them feel special. They all work so hard to teach our children, so it’s nice to sometimes say, THANK YOU to them.

I hope you have a great rest of the week and find some of these helpful for your teacher appreciation week.

A Painted Desk

So, I’m finally getting to share with you the painted desk I did for my daughter, Dallas, when we began her room transformation. So far I’ve shared with you the refinished desk chair and fabric covered bulletin board I did for her new room. Now it’s time for the desk.

If you remember, it all started with the purchase of a desk…

I found this desk at Good Will of all places. It’s a Broyhill and pretty heavy. The problem was, they were asking $100 for the desk and a hideous chair that went with it. I couldn’t believe Good Will was asking that much so I left. I went back a couple of days later and saw it was marked down to $60.00. Now that’s better. So, I grabbed it up, and left the awful chair right there where it stood.

The purchase of this desk then brought on the change of Dallas’ room altogether. I painted her room and also this desk.

Taking the advice of a friend, I decided to paint it turquoise…one of Dallas’ favorite colors.

I love how it turned out. I changed the hardware and just love the face lift it got. It’s got a new life.

I also did a little something different and painted the sides of the drawers grey. {I used the same grey that I used to paint a stripe in her room as well, but I’ll share that later.}

I love how it turned out…kind of gave it a little something extra I think.

I also love how the refinished desk chair fits so perfectly with it.

So, here it is…all three together.

She absolutely loves all three and I will be completely honest with you and tell you that it looks nothing like the picture these days. The desk is stuffed with junk inside and out, and the bulletin board is covered in papers.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope one of these projects inspires you to take on something new.

Happy Tuesday!!

Irresistible Graham Cracker Cookies

Hey, y’all! Happy Friday. Hope you’ve had a great week.

It’s been a while but I wanted to share a “Cookie Friday” recipe with you. These are so good and yes, I think irresistible.

1 1/2 cup Honey graham crackers, finely crushed

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tsp. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a food processor finely crush graham crackers and put in a bowl.

3. Mix flour and baking powder in with the graham crackers.

4. In a separate bowl, mix together milk, butter, and vanilla until smooth using an electric mixer.

5. Add in dry mixture until moistened.

6. Mix in chocolate chips.

7. Scoop out by tablespoonful's on a cookie sheet. The batter is kind of a wet batter.

8. Bake about 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

So, if you’re heading out this weekend to a local BBQ festival or just hanging around the house, I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Surgery Day

Today was the “big” day. Our little man, Hunter, had his surgery today. After reoccurring ear infections and multiple rounds of antibiotics which weren’t working, off to the ENT we went.

We found that he had fluid sitting on his eardrum most likely from allergies, and was not draining. Antibiotics weren’t working and he had minor temporary hearing loss due to the fluid. The decision was then made that he needed tubes and possible adenoids taken out.

Of course we only want the best for our children and would walk through fire for them, but it’s never easy to hear that your baby has to be put under and have surgery no matter how minor or major it may be.

Well, today was the day…Doom’s Day. Ha! Just kidding…well kind of.

Eric and I had done this song and dance before with Dallas but on a worse level. A couple of years ago she had her tonsils and adenoids removed. Where it was the best thing for her, it was a nightmare for us. She was a trouper during the two week recovery and was quite the champ, but let me tell you she was a bear coming out of anesthesia. She was screaming and looked half dead. It was A.W.F.U.L. holding her as tight as I could so she wouldn’t hurt herself. I think Eric and I are a little scarred by that scene, so needless to say we were a bit on the nervous side going into today.

I digress…a bit.

We arrived at the surgical center bright and early this morning and got Hunter all checked in. He was not too happy about putting on the gown, especially because it was purple. But, he soon calmed down and we waited. And waited. And waited.

Finally after about 45 minutes they came to get him. He hopped down off Eric’s lap, took Dr. Medder’s hand, and off they went.

We waited in the waiting room for a bit trying to busy ourselves with  conversation, emails, and magazines. I think it’s better if you try not to picture in your head what’s going on.

Pretty soon, Dr. Medder’s came out and said he was done. Going in we didn’t know if Hunter’s adenoids were going to have to come out, but they did. He told us that Hunter had A LOT of fluid on the eardrums and his adenoids were very swollen and full of puss. Yuck! Poor guy, no wonder he was always miserable.

We waited a bit longer and they came and told us he was awake and asking for Daddy…what about me? Am I chopped liver??? He loves his daddy.

Coming out of anesthesia was not as bad with him as it was with Dallas, but he was NOT happy. He cried and screamed a bit but gulped down three icee pops.

After a while we were home. He started coming around. I cuddled up with him on the couch. We napped and watched t.v. most of the day. By late afternoon, he was almost back to his old self…woohoo!

I am one proud mama of my big boy. He did such a great job was such a trouper.

My favorite part of today is when we got home he ran to the bathroom. He flushed and said, “Wow! Mommy I heard it flush.”

I love my little guy!

To all our family and friends out there who sent up good thoughts and prayers, thank you! It means so much to us. God is so good!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Hey y’all! Happy Monday.

I hope you had a fabulous Easter weekend. We sure did.

I want to share a recipe with you today. It’s Pinterest inspired, of course, and I’ve put my own little twist on it.

My friend turned me on to these, and can I just tell you I am rotten. I love granola bars, especially thick, chewy ones. When I first made these I didn’t know how they would turn out, and now I can’t eat any other. These are THE BEST!! Not kidding you. I even turned my MIL onto them and she requests them whenever we see her.

You can find the original recipe HERE.

Like I said, I’ve put my own twist on these, so I’ll share my recipe with you. They are so simple and I think the best part about them is I know exactly what’s inside them…no fillers and crazy ingredients I can’t even pronounce.

Here you go:

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

4 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup peanut butter/milk chocolate blend chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla until blended.

2. Add flour and baking soda and mix until blended.

3. Mix in peanut butter and oats and mix thoroughly.

4. Add the peanut butter and chocolate chips and mix.

5. Press mixture into a greased 13X9 dish and bake for 18-21 minutes. The edges will start to brown. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

6. Let stand 10 minutes and then flatten with the back of a spoon or frosting spreader.

7. Once they’ve cooled completely, you can then cut them.

If you cut them carefully, you should be able to make 18 bars.

Baggie them up in those small snack sized bags.

I store mine in my pantry. They should keep for at least a couple of weeks, if they stay around that long…they don’t last long around here. Ha!

There are so many variations that you can do to these bad boys.

One time I was out of the peanut butter chip medley and didn’t know what to use. Then I found some Heath bars I needed to use…and they made awesome bars!

Other things you could mix in:

candy bars {such as Butterfinger or Reese's Pieces}

M & M’s

white chocolate chips and walnuts {omit peanut butter}

dried fruits and coconut {omit peanut butter}

The list can go on and on.

I hope you try these the next time you’re in need of a granola bar…you won’t be disappointed. In fact, you may be spoiled just like us.

Thanks for stopping by. I’d love to hear from you if you add something different to these yummy snacks!